Yelp
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Investors
Founders
About
Yelp is a local business review and recommendation platform founded in 2004 by former PayPal employees Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons in San Francisco 12. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2012 at $15 per share 3.
Funding History
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead Investor(s) | Key Co-Investors | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel | 2004 | $1M | Max Levchin | — | — |
| Series A | 2005-11 | $5M | Bessemer Venture Partners | — | $13M pre-money 8 |
| Series B | 2006-10-04 | $10M | Benchmark Capital | — | — |
| Series C | 2008-02-26 | $15M | DAG Ventures | Bessemer, Benchmark | ~$200M (rumored) |
| Series E | 2010-01-27 | $25M | Elevation Partners | — | — |
| IPO | 2012-03-02 | $107M | Goldman Sachs (lead underwriter) | Citigroup, Jefferies | ~$898M market cap |
Notes: - The 2004 angel round of $1M from Max Levchin is confirmed in the Bessemer investment memo, which also notes Yelp had “spent less than half the capital they raised” by the Series A proposal 8. No co-investors in the angel round are documented in primary sources. - The Bessemer Series A investment memo is dated October 3, 2005, with the round closing in November 2005 at a $13M pre-money valuation ($5M for 27.8% ownership) 8. - Series B valuation was not disclosed in the October 4, 2006 announcement 4. - Series E valuation was not disclosed in the January 27, 2010 announcements; Marc Bodnick of Elevation Partners joined Yelp’s board upon closing 69. Elevation Partners also purchased up to $75M in secondary shares from employees and early investors in addition to the $25M primary investment 6910.
What Investors Say
No independently sourced investor testimonials found.
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials found.
Sources
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Yelp Wikipedia page, accessed March 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelp↩↩
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PortersFiveForce.com, “What is Brief History of Yelp Company?,” accessed March 2026. https://portersfiveforce.com/blogs/brief-history/yelp↩↩
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CNN Money, “Yelp IPO price: $15 a share, above target,” March 1, 2012. https://money.cnn.com/2012/03/01/technology/yelp_ipo_price/index.htm↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Yelp secures $10 million more for local reviews,” October 4, 2006. https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/04/yelp-secures-10-million-more-for-local-reviews/↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Yelp Raises $15 Million Fourth Round, Rumored Valuation $200 Million,” February 26, 2008. https://techcrunch.com/2008/02/26/yelp-raises-15-million-fourth-round-valuation-200-million/↩
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TechCrunch, “Update: Elevation To Invest As Much As $100 Million In Yelp,” January 27, 2010. https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/27/update-elevation-to-invest-as-much-as-100-million-in-yelp/↩↩↩
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Tracxn, “Yelp - Raised $56M Funding from 16 investors,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/yelp/__LdhBGal3bI3gZ2GsudAIAB7DqjG0hS9Zv7bGKRftqU4/funding-and-investors↩
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Bessemer Venture Partners, “Yelp Investment Memo” (dated October 3, 2005), accessed April 2026. https://www.bvp.com/memos/yelp↩↩↩↩
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PR Newswire, “Yelp Receives Investment From Elevation Partners,” January 27, 2010. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yelp-receives-investment-from-elevation-partners-82815482.html↩↩↩
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Fortune, “Reviewing Elevation’s Yelp investment,” March 2, 2012. https://fortune.com/2012/03/02/reviewing-elevations-yelp-investment/↩↩